Los Angeles Kings center Anze Kopitar, second from left, celebrates his goal with defenseman Jake Muzzin, left, and left wing Alex Iafallo, second from right, as St. Louis Blues defenseman Carl Gunnarsson skates by during the second period of an NHL hockey game Monday, Jan. 21, 2019, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
Los Angeles Kings center Anze Kopitar, second from left, celebrates his goal with defenseman Jake Muzzin, left, and left wing Alex Iafallo, second from right, as St. Louis Blues defenseman Carl Gunnarsson skates by during the second period of an NHL hockey game Monday, Jan. 21, 2019, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill) Credit: Mark J. Terrill

Pittsburgh — Travis Zajac had a goal and three assists, Keith Kinkaid made 37 saves and the New Jersey Devils had little trouble in a 6-3 victory over the sluggish Pittsburgh Penguins on Monday night.

Pavel Zacha, Damon Severson, Brian Boyle, Blake Coleman and Kyle Palmieri also scored as New Jersey snapped a three-game skid. The NHL’s worst road team improved to 6-17-3 away from home. Two of those wins have come at the expense of the Penguins, who have dropped four of five overall and looked a step slow following a nine-day break.

Derick Brassard got his ninth goal for Pittsburgh before being ejected in the third period for elbowing. Matt Cullen and Bryan Rust added late goals after the game was decided. Matt Murray allowed six goals on 32 shots as the Penguins began the stretch run with another clunker against the Devils.

New Jersey came in tied with Ottawa at the bottom of the Eastern Conference but improved to 3-0 against Pittsburgh, outscoring the Penguins by a combined 15-5.

The first two wins came during the opening six weeks of the season, a time when the Penguins were enduring another sloppy start. After a surge through December that pushed Pittsburgh comfortably back into playoff position, the Penguins find themselves in the midst of another slide.

Pittsburgh limped into the All-Star break following a 2-3 West Coast trip, each loss coming in a game in which they surrendered at least five goals thanks in large part to sloppy play in front of the net.

A chance to reset at home against one of the Eastern Conference’s also-rans didn’t exactly go as planned.

Agent: Panarin Talks Done Until Offseason

Columbus, Ohio — Artemi Panarin’s agent says the star forward won’t discuss a new contract with the Columbus Blue Jackets until after the season.

Dan Milstein tweeted a statement Monday saying Panarin’s “priority now is to focus on the rest of the season.”

Panarin will be an unrestricted free agent. The team’s efforts to sign him to a multiyear extension have been unsuccessful, and he isn’t sure if he wants to stay in Columbus. The team may consider trading him before the Feb. 25 deadline. Columbus entered Monday in third place in the Metropolitan Division, in line for a postseason berth. Panarin is making $6 million this season.

Stars Add Defenseman

Dallas — The Dallas Stars reacquired defenseman Jamie Oleksiak from the Pittsburgh Penguins on Monday in exchange for a fourth-rank draft pick.

The deal came on the same day Stars defenseman Marc Methot underwent season-ending surgery to repair a cartilage defect in his left knee.

Dallas had sent Oleksiak to Pittsburgh in December 2017 for a fourth-round draft pick.

Leafs Get Blue Line Help

Los Angeles — The Toronto Maple Leafs have acquired defenseman Jake Muzzin from the Los Angeles Kings for a first-round pick and two prospects.

Los Angeles gets forward Carl Grundstrom and the rights to unsigned defenseman Sean Durzi in the deal along with a 2019 first-rounder. The teams announced the trade on Monday night, four weeks before the trade deadline.

Muzzin gives the Maple Leafs a top-four defenseman who is signed through next season at a salary-cap hit of $4 million. The blue line has been Toronto’s biggest weakness this season, and Muzzin could fit on the top pairing alongside Morgan Rielly.

The 29-year-old Muzzin has four goals and 17 assists in 50 games this season. Kings general manager Rob Blake says the trade was necessary for the future of the organization and that it wasn’t easy to trade such a key player as Muzzin.

Grundstrom, 21, was a second-round pick in 2016 and has 29 points in 42 games in the American Hockey League this season. Durzi, 20, was a second-round pick last year and has 28 points in 26 games this season in the Ontario Hockey League.

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